Cody Thorn
We took a look at the top three 5A teams in the standings, now we dive into the state champions in the girls’ bracket that weren’t part of a trophy-winning team.
5A 100
Zurri Zamora won the 5A 100-pound title and earned the most outstanding wrestler award for Amarillo Tascoca.
The senior had to rally late to keep her perfect season intact, beating Azle’s Noah Kovach.
The Azle freshman led 3-2 with less than 1 1/2 left but got called for stalling with 59 seconds left, allowing Zamora to tie it.
With 8 seconds left, Zamora got a takedown down for a 5-3 win and a perfect 38-0 run to the state crown.
Zamora
“I feel over the moon, I feel so happy; this was the goal and we got it,” Zamora said. “I stayed in my ties and I moved her around the mat and she got called for stalling and that helped me.”
5A 107
As the No. 7-ranked wrestler, Rachel Corley pulled off upsets throughout the bracket to win the state title.
The Cedar Park senior went 4-0 and won the state title with a 5-3 in over Justin Northwest’s Emma Graves.
“She got the first takedown and that starts you off a little nervous,” said Corley, who went 1-2 in her first trip to state last year. “It was important for me to keep believing in myself and keep working through it. One takedown does not define the match and to keep wrestling.”
A takedown with 1:33 left in the third period for Corley (47-4) proved to be the difference.
She opened with a win over No. 9-ranked Anaise Bolanos of Frisco Memorial. She then upset No. 5-ranked Tyile Ramos of Lubbock Cooper on a 7-4 decision.
In the semifinals on early Saturday, she got a 7-2 win over No. 1-ranked Natalie Lopez of Frisco, ending her undefeated season.
5A 114
This bracket featured the top-ranked wrestlers in the finals — great job of rankings there by Ray Shoaf as you’ll notice a trend later.
Madison Pena, ranked No. 2, secured the title with a win by fall at 5:19 against Melissa’s Akeelah Moore — the No. 1-ranked grappler.
The win by the Lubbock junior ended the perfect season for Moore, who was 37-0 heading into the finals.
“I feel like all my hard work paid and people are starting to notice the hard work I put in,” Pena said. “I just put pressure on her; constant fakes, constant moving. No matter what if I got takedown, I had to put more pressure on her. Pressure beats technique and strength above all.”
Pena finished 34-2 and won her last 24 matches this season.
She dominated the finals for the most part with a trio of takedowns and led 7-2 before getting the pin against Moore, who was a runner-up last year in 6A.
Pena had three pins in her four wins — the exception was a 3-2 tie-breaking win against Genevieve Bellino of Corpus Christi Carroll in the quarterfinals.
5A 126
Ava Milliner set a bit of history with her win in the 126-pound finals.
The Killeen Chaparral sophomore became the school’s first wrestling state champion after pinning Frisco Centennial’s Jordyn Parker 22 seconds into the final period.
The No. 2-ranked Milliner led 6-3 going into the final period over the No. 4-ranked Parker.
Milliner, who was 34-2, beat the No. 1-ranked wrestler, Zoe Bennett of Lubbock Cooper, by a pin in the semifinals.
Both of Milliner’s losses this year came against Class 6A competition.
Last year she reached the semifinals but lost but had a chance to clear that hurdle this year.
5A 132
Freshman Landri Von Gonten made a big impact in her first year at Texas A&M Consolidated High School in College Station.
Her run at state opened with a pin, two decisions in a row and then a pin in the finals. The No. 2-ranked wrestler knocked off third-ranked Mackenzie Blue of Justin Northwest, 6-1, in the quarterfinals and beat No. 6-ranked Amalie Lucero of El Paso Hanks in the semifinals.
She got a rematch in the finals against Richmond Foster’s Madison Canales — last year’s 5A 126-pound champion….
